


Does the Headstone Have a Name?

by Fanfic_is_a_sin



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Bank Robbery, Eventual reference to major character death probably, In which case I will try to remember to change this, Inapproriate use of firearms, Levi is Japanese, None sex with left beef, Some people are racist, UNLESS THERE BECOMES THE SEX, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-28
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-09-02 18:01:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8677417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fanfic_is_a_sin/pseuds/Fanfic_is_a_sin
Summary: Levi never wanted to work private security, but he owes it to someone to keep himself from starving. There aren't a lot of other options for a malcontent war veteran with no references that aren't commanding officers or criminals. So when a job opens up at a bank near his apartment, he figures it's worth a shot. 
Of course, that means something has to go wrong. It does, in the form of a pair of expert bank robbers who are expecting an easy job. The trouble with Levi is, he doesn't know how to make anything easy.





	

Levi was the only one here with any idea what he's doing. There were only three security guards working this early in the morning, and even though they were guarding about as much money as you could find in half a dozen bodega cash registers, the bank could really stand to hire a few more guards, if the ones they did hire were going to be awful at guarding. From his station next to the front desk, Levi plotted out where he'd put the extra men, if he had them. He gave himself another three. One, to cover the back door that the arthritic ex-cop, Decker, always put his back to when he took his on-the-clock smoke breaks. One, to actually guard the front door that the local kid who probably only had this job because he was related to someone around here was so concerned with opening for customers as they came in. A third to tidy up around the lobby, since nobody else seemed concerned with the scattered investment strategy flyers and the two pens with the bank's name and address on them laying on the floor, or the layer of dust accumulated in every corner of the lobby. He'd tried to put some things in order himself, but Decker told him to knock it off. It looked weird to the customers, he said.

Levi refocused as the kid scurried forward to open the door. The only customer who came in this early was an old woman. She came every other day, as far as Levi could tell. He'd only been working there for a couple of weeks, but she hadn't broken the pattern yet. Every other morning she shuffled in, thanked the kid for holding the door for her, and made for the counter without ever looking Levi's way. He didn't mind that, didn't read too much into the sentiment behind it. He knew what she wanted before she asked. Check on her account, get an itemized list of transactions for the previous day. He'd gathered that she had a son. He lived with her, had a debit card attached to her account. She didn't seem to trust him, and she trusted online banking even less. It always took a while for the teller to go through her list of polite phrases and processing steps.

 He'd caught the other two talking in the break room. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but the walls were thin and he walked quietly enough that most people didn't hear him coming. _Must be some kind of thing over there,_ Decker had said.

"Over there?" The kid.

"Yeah, you know. Asia."

"What? Just because he looks Asian?"

"Don't give me that. Looks is all there is to race. It's all skin deep. But there's still a culture, you know?"

"Come on, man."

"Look, all I'm saying is it's probably why he's always trying to clean everything. Few pens on the ground and he looks like he wants to kill you."

"What does that have to do with-"

That's when Levi walked in. He didn't look at them, or say anything. He let them sit at the cramped aluminum camp table and trade awkward glances while he pulled his bowl from the fridge and microwaved his lunch. When they were done, he took slow and deliberate steps toward the table, looming as best he could at his height until the pair of them had no choice but to give up on the illusion that there was something interesting on the table between them and look up at him expectantly. He looked Decker in the eyes, then raised his bowl.

"Noodles," he said. They both went even more pale.

The tires screeching were the first clue that he hadn't been paying attention. The second was the kid, backing away from the doors instead of moving to open them. As they swung open, the kid yelled.

"Get the alarm!"

Two men, both tall and carrying pistols came through the door. They were dressed similarly. Ubiquitous jeans, work boots, and henleys. Identical black masks. One wore a gray, unmarked hoodie, the other a brown leather jacket. One carried an unremarkable duffel bag Levi knew at a glance that they were smarter than small town bank robbers had any right to be. Without the masks, they'd probably look like every other man in town. Before the kid could really do anything about it, the one in the hoodie cracked him on the head with his gun. From how fast he hit the floor, Levi guessed the kid'd never been hit before in his life.

"Wouldn't do that," said the man in the leather jacket. His voice was calm, steady, casual. Trouble. He'd done this before, or something similar. "We don't really get along with cops."

Levi reached for the flashlight at his belt. They wouldn't let him carry a gun, but he didn't need one. Disliked them, really. Leather Jacket turned his gun on Levi.

"Ah-ah. Relax. I might miss the first time, adjusting for your height, but the second'll definitely make a mess out of you. Unless they make flashlights with guns in them out here. Wouldn't doubt it, but...if it's all the same, I don't wanna kill anyone before noon."

Levi raised both hands. He had a feeling that they really would shoot him. He needed a distraction.

"Don't hurt us!" The old woman. She'd shrunk herself down by the back wall. The tellers had their hands raised as well.

"Just do as you're told," the man in the hoodie said, finally breaking his silence. He, too, was calm. "And nobody will be hurt."

Levi could tell that he took himself more seriously than his partner. He kept his head moving, constantly scanning the room while the other man handled the tellers, gun still lazily directed at Levi.

"That's the plan. Don't make us change it, yeah? You've all seen movies." Leather Jacket tossed the bag up on the counter. "Bag, money, no alarms. We leave when it's full, everybody gets a day off work afterwards."

The tellers exchanged glances, but didn't move. His hand moved, then the gun fired, filling the lobby with the sound of hollow thunder. Levi winced, but the bullet didn't hit him. A chunk of plaster exploded to his right, showering him with white dust. Fucking dust. The old woman and one of the tellers screamed.

"Quickly," Leather Jacket suggested. Levi caught the man in the hoodie glaring at his partner and shaking his head. He didn't say anything. The tellers scrambled, one of them grabbing the bag and the other quickly opening up his register. They started filling up the bag, moving from one register to the next. Levi didn't think they'd have enough to fill it. They'd have to go back to the vault. The man in the hoodie would follow them, to keep them from calling the police. Then he could do something.

"You look a little tense," Leather Jacket said. Levi realized he was talking to him. He looked the man in the eyes.

"Well," Levi said. "You got dust in my hair."

Leather Jacket looked at him curiously, then smiled. "It'll wash."

Levi never broke his scowl, but that wasn't exclusive to the situation at hand. He found it...disconcerting, how simple and sincere the robber's smile seemed. Even behind the mask. It was like looking at a kind old man holding him at gunpoint. Levi wasn't used to that. He was used to kids with guns. Old men, he decided, couldn't be any worse.

The back door opened. "Fuck," another voice said. Both the robbers swiveled their heads in unison, just in time to see Decker drop his cigarette and reach for his taser. He'd kept one even after retiring as a cop. Wouldn't do him any good at this range. The man in the hoodie leveled his gun at Decker.

"Drop it," he said, with iron-hard resolve.

Decker Froze, but Levi moved. The man in the leather jacket wasn't looking his way, and now he knew that his gun was slightly off the mark to hit him. The flashlight was in his hand before the man in the leather jacket could turn, and the steel handle made a satisfying impact as it found it ribs. Levi grabbed his wrist and twisted until it got tense, then gave way with a wet pop. His gun fell, and he grunted. Less noise then Levi was expecting. The other man wheeled around, and Levi dropped into a crouch and sent the flashlight hurtling at him. It caught him square in the chest, and made the shot he squeezed off miss, shattering the glass front door instead of Levi's skull.

Decker ran forward with the taser while Levi grabbed for the fallen gun. He got a hand on it, but Leather Jacket was on top of him, tackling him to the ground despite definite broken ribs and grappling for control of his weapon with the hand that hadn't had its wrist dislocated. The other robber was faster than Decker, and another gunshot left the lobby ringing. Decker went down, holding his knee. The old woman was huddled in a corner screaming, but Levi couldn't hear it. His heart was in his ears as he struggled with Leather Jacket for the gun.

Levi was stronger than he looked, but so was the robber, and he looked strong to start with. He elbowed Levi in the temple with his injured arm and managed to get his good hand on the barrel of the gun. Levi snarled and shoved it forward. As soon as he felt the end of the barrel touch something solid, he pulled the trigger. The noise was muffled this time. By the robber's body, by the hoof-beats in Levi's chest, or by the ringing in his ears. The robber slumped, and Levi rolled him to the side. He went with no resistance. The sound in the world didn't come back. Something wet and hot was seeping into the white shirt that he'd spent the whole morning ironing. Like canteen water in the desert. He knew these weren't the same gunshots, but something about gunshots always felt the same. Always carried him, back.

The man in the hoodie was on top of him now. He should have gotten up, should have moved. He wouldn't have missed. But his didn't. Instead, he felt the butt of another gun bounce off his skull, vision darkening as he got the sensation of falling. His blinked slowly. The first time, he opened his eyes to see the robber in the hoodie mouthing something. A word. A name. Mike. The second, he saw the barrel of the man's gun, held just above his face. Behind it, he could see something. Just his eyes, really, behind the mask. But that was enough for Levi to realize that he was afraid.

The third time, there were red and blue lights, and the sound of sirens cut through the ringing static he was drowning in. Someone, one of the tellers, must have gotten to the alarm. Or someone besides Decker must have heard the first gunshot. The robber was shaking him by a fistful of his shirt.

"Did you hear me," he demanded.

Levi shook his head, blinking again, but faster.

"You're going to help us get out of here," the man in the hoodie said, gun still pointedly in Levi's face.

Us. Levi shifted his eyes. The other man was standing now, on shaky legs. The man he'd shot. The wound was in his shoulder. Levi scrunched up his face. He knew it was bad, but not fatal. Not yet. A field medic took a particular interest in teaching him all about bullet wounds. He remembered them. They talked a lot. He didn't talk much. Neither of them really bonded well with the rest. He wasn't sure if they'd ever annoyed him, but if they did, it was probably his fault.

The uninjured robber pulled him up, toward his feet.

"Make one wrong move, and I'll kill you," he said, and meant it. Levi always knew when they meant it, even back when they were speaking different languages.

"Now, come on."

 


End file.
